Sorry for the uber long delay on the update. Things have been real busy for me and these starting chapters are proving harder than I thought to write. But I hope to get things rolling here before to long.

A few Notes. My Character of Grace doesn't appear to follow the Grace according the Avatar Wiki. My Grace is a biologist, and is one of the first to go to Pandora. Whereas, according to the wiki, she is a xenobotanist and came only 15 years before Jake. Either way, I think putting Grace on Pandora first will allow me to develop more and better exploration and experiences with her. Thus making the story better. (Hopefully)

And many thanks to those who offered up characters for me to use.

Enough with the Gibber Jabber.


The next morning Grace awoke to the sounds of people getting up and rustling about. As she pulled the covers off the realization of where she was came flooding back. She saw that she apparently fell asleep in her clothes last night and glanced at her watch and saw it was 7:32 in the morning. Not really feeling like getting up this early she rolled over and sat up trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

As Grace glanced about the barracks she noticed the others getting up and around. Figuring she should do the same she sat up putting her head in her hands still trying to fully awake. She knew she needed a shower and some fresh clothes but that would have to wait. There were more important things to see to.

Standing up she figured that leaving her bag under her cot would be okay since this where they would be staying. Walking towards the bathroom at the end of the barracks she got a good look at some of the other people, she noticed that they were mostly men in there 20's. Everyone looked as different as the next.

Finishing up in the bathroom washing her hands she looked in the mirror. "Where am I going? What is in store for me? Where will I end up?" Grace hoped her thoughts would be answered when she got to the HQ building. As she headed out she saw that everyone else was about ready and some were gone. Glancing at her watch she hurried to the door and outside to see if she could manage to find the HQ building.

A large building off to the left with 'Headquarters' written on the front made things easy as she started walking towards it. Looking about she got a better picture of what the complex looked like than last night. The imposing fence was still there which made her a little uneasy. But it stretched farther than she thought, it was difficult to make out the fence on the other side of the compound.

Making her way up the stairs of the HQ building she could feel the tension between the group and many seemed to hesitate when they reached the top step to go through the door. In the end though, everyone went inside. Grace was the first to spot Quaritch standing beside a doorway while everyone else was in awe of the richness of the entrance hall. There were marble columns, real wood benches, leather furniture. Many had not seen such royalties in there lives but Grace had expected it as she headed for the Captain. The others soon followed suit.

As they approached, the Captain opened the door, and waved them inside. As they shuffled in the room they took seats around a square table that led to a large projection screen. Once they were all seated the Captain closed the door and strolled to the head of the table where he turned and faced the group.

"Good morning, as some of you may know, I am Captain Miles Quaritch, US Marines. You are all here to be the first people to ever explore an alien world beyond our solar system. You were chosen because you have skills that the RDA needs that will decide the success of this miss..." Before he could finish the door opened and in walked Robert Selfridge. "Sorry I'm late." He said as he took a seat at the head of the table opposite the projection screen. Grace saw that Robert was flustered about something but the Captain resumed his talk and she returned her attention to him. "The place we are going to is in the Alpha Centurai system. I'll let Mr. Selfridge fill you in on the rest of the details." After he finished he strolled over and took his seat.

As the captain sat down, Robert walked up to the projection screen and picked up the remote that was on the table. He turned to the screen and clicked the remote. The screen came to life showing the RDA logo and giving a grim reminder to Grace of who she was working for. "Good morning, I am Robert Selfridge, Special Resource Administrator." He clicked the remote again and as he did, a blue and green world appeared that appeared much like Earth, but the neighboring gas Giant told Grace that this must be Pandora. "This is Pandora. As you can see, it resembles much of what Earth looked like many years ago. But Unlike Earth, Pandora is a moon orbiting a Gas Giant called Polyphemus which orbits Alpha Centauri A. From what we can tell from this picture, Pandora appears to have a great amount of wildlife. But that is a severe understatement. After Pandora was discovered to sustain life, a probe was sent there and after 6 years of waiting the images and reports back were astounding. Those reports will be available to you later but for now, look at these images. Then you can get a good idea of whats ahead of us." A little smile crept across his face because he could see the scientists were on the edge of their seats and practically drooling on the table. He then returned his gaze to the screen started clicking through the numerous pictures of the Pandora world that was taken by the probe.

The scientists were stunned by what they saw. As each picture flashed by Grace grew more and more in love with this world. After about 30 images of amazing and alien Flora, Grace was hardly prepared for the images of the Fauna. Many of the creatures she saw were six-legged and very large when compared to Earth creatures. They varied in as many ways as one could count. There were large creatures that looked like rhino's but with a hammerhead instead of the usual snout. There were small creatures that looked like monkeys but were blue and had two legs and 4 arms. Then the images changed to something even more spectacular. The camera didn't need to use night vision to capture images at night. Soon after darkness fell the Flora began to give off it's own natural bioluminescense. Grace was in absolute awe at what was presented before her. More images flashed by of glowing plants and some glowing animals. It was truly spectacular.

But as daylight approached again the bioluminesence faded but was soon replaced by an image that the scientists would never forget. Many of the scientists let out gasps, and for good just 15 or so feet in front of the camera was a humanoid. It resembled a human being in many ways. It had two legs, two feet, and had the same shape as a human with a face that had a few subtle differences. The nose was more flat and broader, the eyes were larger and a deep gold and it had more sharper and pronounced ears. Grace didn't want to get ahead of herself but she could swear that the creature had more of a female shape to her and perhaps a tail. But that wasn't the only thing. The creature was somewhat clothed and was carrying a bow and arrow. This said many things. Not only was there a humanoid species on this world but it also had intelligence. Many of humanities millenia old questions were answered in this picture.

Selfridge turned off the projector and the lights came back to normal. Many of the scientists began to talk quickly many asking questions. But Selfridge raised his hand to quiet them down. I know you have a million questions but before we get to far you need to get settled into your quarters and get to know each other. A few voiced their objections again to the housing accommodations but Selfridge waved them off saying that they can sleep outside if they wish.

As the team made there way back to the barracks a million thoughts were running through Graces head. Who were these people? Would they be friendly? How much do they know? She finally returned to reality when a young woman, perhaps a little younger than her approached her. "Hello, I'm Patrice, Patrice Maire. I read about your many accomplishments and studies at Stanford University. And I must say, I'm am glad to be working with you. I heard about your many protests to whats happening to Earth and I attended many of them but you probably don't remember me."

Grace was a little shocked to be taken out of her thoughts so suddenly but didn't flash any anger at her. She was going to have to work with this person for over 6 years, perhaps longer and didn't want to start out on the wrong foot. "Uh, hello. I'm Grace." A few awkward seconds went by and Grace asked, "So, uh, what is your part on the team?" Patrice smiled, "Well, I majored in biochemistry with a minor in botany. But I didn't want to join the team." "Why not?" Grace asked a little surprised anyone wouldn't want to join an adventure like this. "Because I wanted to try and save Earth. But my father convinced me otherwise. I love the forest, always have. I grew up with the pictures of the Great Redwood forest in my room that I always loved. Instead of reading fictional stories in school I read about wildlife and many natural wonders that used to dot our world." "I see", Grace replied. A few seconds past with nothing said between then. "Well I guess I'll talk to you later." Patrice said as she waved and started walking toward the barracks. Grace followed suit knowing she needed to get acquainted with the rest of the team.

As she entered the barracks she saw everyone sitting on bunks around the center of the room talking about something. She approached the group and listened in on what they were talking about. She expected some evil plot but they sounded like kids who were excited about a new movie coming out. But unlike kids, they had a serious tone to them.

She decided to leave them to there conversation as she headed to the shower that she skipped this morning. As she let the warm water cascade down her body she reflected on what she saw today. She realized where she was going, the pictures of the beautiful forest and creatures were real, that world was real, and she was going there. It was a place she had wanted to be in for as long as she can remember. An untamed world full of new things. A rush of homesickness hit her when she thought of her childhood and exploring the forest outside her home. This world would be the same way, except alien.

As she exited the shower the excitement really came on what was actually being set in motion. When she left the shower room she saw the others were still huddled in the middle and she figured she would join them.

"This is the chance of a lifetime. I can't believe I'm a part of it. Going to a new world, meeting a new race." Many of the others in the group nodded their agreements. Then one of the members of the group stood up and asked her. "Are you Grace Augustine?" Grace looked at the young man and replied, "Yes, and who would you be?" The young man got a look of excitement over his face. "Oh sorry, I'm Nick. It's a great opportunity to meet you, I read about your stance against the RDA and their actions. I agree with much of what you said but it the chance to travel to another world was just to good to pass up. I have always loved astronomy and that led me to where I am now. "And what is that?" Grace asked. "Oh, I'm supposed to closely monitor Pandora and Polyphemus and its other moons as it orbits Alpha Centauri A, ACA for short, to try and find many possible orbit patterns for ships in orbit. That way they don't get drug into massive gravity fields or outlying debris," a moment passed and as he sat down he finished with, "But yeah, that's my main part on this mission."

The man beside him stood up and spoke, "Hey, I'm Miguel, but you can all call me Migg. I was in the Canadian Army for a couple years but after a very good friend died I decided to move on. I Studied Applied Physics and technologies for 3 years and then became a professional Diver. So I have more than one responsibility on this mission. I'm supposed to, while on Pandora exploring some of the waters there, try and figure out ways to better design and produce some of the tools we will be using on Pandora," Migg sat down with a smile and then said, "But hey don't take me too seriously, sometimes I can be funny, but know when not to be."

As they went around the room Grace met many good people Like Alex who is going to be the teams medic and biochemist. Also Rick who is the teams psychologist, and 'musical expert' as he likes to be called. There is also Harrison who is one of the lead geologists on the team. One of the last people she talked to was Chris. He said that he is the agricultural production expert. He got a lot of blank stares with that. "Basically Grace tells me what we can eat and I try and domesticate it and figure different ways to prepare it."

After she got acquainted with most of the crew she decided to take a walk around and explore the base. First thing she headed for was the fence. She walked up to and looked up at the 10 foot high fence topped with razor wire. Contradicting thoughts entered her head. She was so excited to be going to this new world but at what cost. Was she selling herself to the RDA, the very people who had destroyed Earth. As she looked out the fence to the wasteland beyond she made a vow to herself right then that she would do all in her power to keep the RDA from destroying the beauty that Pandora held.

She lingered on that thought for a moment then continued walking around the base. She noticed many large building and a few that looked like hangers or warehouses. Their contents would remain a mystery as she continued around. One thing she seemed surprised about was the absence of large complex like buildings that would house training areas and simulations. The buildings on top appeared to be mostly offices and storage buildings with a few exceptions. The rest of the base was most likely underground she thought.

Grace wandered around the base until the sun began getting low in the West and headed back to the barracks. When she returned a note was on the bulletin board stating: To all Pandora Exploration Team, Training will begin at 0600 tomorrow. Meet Captain Quaritch at the Training Center behind the HQ building.

Strangely Grace was glad of this, she was eager to get started. The sooner they get started the more prepared and the sooner they can leave for Pandora. Grace got cleaned up and ready for bed as many of the others were doing. But as she laid down and pulled the covers up many excited thoughts kept jumping through her brain that she couldn't sleep.

After a couple hours of tossing and turning she couldn't stand it anymore. She got up and walked outside and stared up at the stars. As she did many of the others that couldn't sleep joined her outside looking up. A few silent minutes passed between the group then Nick spoke up. "Pandora is up there, just waiting for us. All we have to do is make it there alive and what we have worked our lives to do, to learn, and hoped for for will all become realized." They stood out there a few more minutes longer and finally returned to bed. As Grace laid down she ran Nick's words through her head again and everything seemed to come together. She soon fell asleep and dreamed of upcoming adventures.